Arched panel wrist support

Abstract

Wrist-supports comprises an arched panel (25) standing on a pair of footing edges (26) extending in a side to side direction. Panel (24) comprises firm material that is thin enough to flex as shown in figure (2). Flexible material sleeve, platform having a channel or keyboard housing is required to constrain panel (25) in its arched configuration, as shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 8, 11, and 12. A separate support is recommended for each wrist. The designs provide surprising benefits of comfort, reach, and wrist-straightening. Many variations are considered. A mobile version with hand strap (36) is shown in FIG. 12. A sloping version is shown in FIG. 7 comprising trapezoidal structure panel (25), shown in FIG. 6.

I claim: 
     
       1. A wrist support for upholding a wrist (53) comprising: a structure panel (25), said structure panel (25) having a pair of footing edges (26) lying substantially in a direction from left to right, said structure panel (25) being flexible enough to readily take on a substantially planar configuration and a substantially arched configuration, where said footing edges (26) are drawn nearer each other, where the body of said structure panel (25) bows upward, where said structure panel (25) forms and straddles a concavity (31), and where the structure panel (25) is made of sufficiently firm material to substantially stand on said footing edges (26) and be adequately supportive, and   a means for substantially containing said structure panel (25) in said arched configuration.   
     
     
       2. The wrist support of claim 1 wherein the arched panel constraining means comprises a tubular stretch of material or sleeve (20), said tubular stretch of material (20) comprising flexible material, and said tubular stretch of material (20) substantially wrapping around the structure panel (25) and said concavity (31) by substantially hugging the structure panel when in said arched configuration (25) and the bottom face of said concavity (31), whereby said structure panel is substantially bound in said arched configuration. 
     
     
       3. The wrist support as in claim 1, comprising: said structure panel having a right structure panel and a left structure panel forming left and right wrist supports   right and left structure panels (25) having a pair of footing edges (26), respectively, lying substantially in a direction from left to right, said right structure panel (25b) being flexible enough to readily take on a substantially planar configuration and a substantially arched configuration, where the right footing edges (26) are drawn nearer each other, where the body of said right structure panel (25b) bows upward, where said right structure panel (25b) forms and straddles a concavity (31), and where the left structure panel (25) is also made of sufficiently firm material to substantially stand on said footing edges (26) and be adequately supportive, and   a second tubular stretch of material or sleeve (20) comprising flexible material, and said second tubular stretch of material (20) substantially wrapping around said right structure panel (25b) and the right concavity (31) by substantially hugging the convex surface of the right structure panel (25b) and the bottom face of the right concavity (31), whereby said right structure panel (25b) is substantially bound in said arched configuration,   where base materials (24) of the left and right supports are substantially connected along their right and left edges respectively, said base materials (24) being substantially the portions of said sleeves (20) that underlie the concavities (31) and the footing edges (26), whereby one of the wrist supports adapted to support a single wrist (53), isolating the single wrist's motion, and whereby the coupling of the two wrist supports helps prevent said wrist supports from sliding or shifting.   
     
     
       4. The wrist support of claim 1 wherein the arched panel constraining means comprises: a substantially planar channel bed (33), said channel bed (33) having a pair of substantially rectilinear, disjoint boundaries, lying substantially in a direction from side to side, and   a pair of channel restricting means (34) to block sliding off the channel bed, said pair of channel restricting means (34) lying in one-to-one relation along said pair of boundaries, one of said footing edges (26) of the arched structure panel (25) substantially abutting one of said channel restricting means (34) and the other of said footing edges (26) substantially abutting the other of said channel restricting means (34), said footing edges (26) being positioned on said channel bed (33), whereby said structure panel is substantially held in said arched configuration.   
     
     
       5. The wrist support of claim 4 where one of said channel barrier means (34) comprises: a means (50) for housing a keypad, and   a means for keeping the keypad housing means (50) in a fixed position.   
     
     
       6. The wrist support of claim 1 wherein the arched panel constraining means comprises: a fairly flat block (38) comprising a slab of appropriately unyielding material, and   a pair of substantially rectilinear, disjoint fillisters (40), penetrating the top of said slab (38), said fillisters (40) extending substantially in a side to side direction, one of said footing edges (26) of the structure panel (25) standing in one of said fillisters (40), the other of said footing edges (26) standing in the other of said fillisters (40), whereby said structure panel is substantially held in said arched configuration.   
     
     
       7. The wrist support of claim 1 wherein the arched panel constraining means comprises: a means (50) for housing a keypad (52), and   a substantially planar platform (46), said platform (46) having a front boundary and a back boundary, said boundaries being disjoint and lying substantially in a direction from side to side, and a front wall (48a) adjacent to said platform (46) along said front boundary, and a back wall (48b) adjacent to said platform (46) along said back boundary, said walls (48) substantially affixed to said platform (46), and   the keypad housing means (50) and the structure panel (25) being seated on the platform (46), one of said footing edges (26) substantially abutting the front wall (48a) and the other of said footing edges (26) substantially abutting the front of the keypad housing means (50), and the back of the keypad housing means (50) substantially abutting the back wall (48b), whereby wedging the arched structure panel (25) between the front wall (48a) and the keypad housing means (50) provides the arched panel constraining means.   
     
     
       8. The wrist support as in claim 1, comprising: said structure panel having a right structure panel and a left structure panel forming left and right wrist supports   right and left structure panels (25) having a pair of footing edges (26), respectively, lying substantially in a direction from left to right, said right structure panel (25b) being flexible enough to readily take on a substantially planar configuration and a substantially arched configuration, where the right footing edges (26) are drawn nearer each other, where the body of said right structure panel (25b) bows upward, where said right structure panel (25b) forms and straddles a concavity (31), and where the left structure panel (25) is also made of sufficiently firm material to substantially stand on said footing edges (26) and be adequately supportive, whereby one of the wrist supports can uphold a single wrist (53), isolating the single wrist's motion.   
     
     
       9. The wrist support of claim 1 wherein said structure panel (25) has said disjoint pair of footing edges (26) nonparallel when in said planar configuration. 
     
     
       10. The wrist support of claim 1 wherein said structure panel (25) is substantially trapezoidal when in said planar configuration.